The mountains of Vermont hardly rivaled those of his native Austria, but Stratton Mountain’s founding ski school director knew good times were more important than towering peaks. How Emo Henrich injected a little oompah into the New England ski scene—and how, a year after his passing, his legacy of the good life lives on.

“Emo wanted something different,” Otto Egger explains to me, his accent still giving away his roots some five decades after he left the slopes of his native Austria for those of Vermont.

The mountains of Vermont hardly rivaled those of his native Austria, but Stratton Mountain’s founding ski school director knew good times were more important than towering peaks. How Emo Henrich injected a little oompah into the New England ski scene—and how, a year after his passing, his legacy of the good life lives on.

Today, SMS thrives on a beautiful 10-acre campus near the Sun Bowl side of the mountain, complete with its own state-of-the-art athletic facility. On a typical winter weekday, head coach Mike Morin encourages and critiques his charges as they rocket down a variety of runs all over the mountain. “We can train anything from slalom to super G, any day of the week,” says Morin. “There aren’t many places where you can do that.”

This grande dame might be getting up there in years (it opened in 1769), but recent renovations—including a great room that finally gives this historic hotel its due—keep things current. Today, skiers set up base camp here for trips to Stratton and Bromley, 17 and seven miles away, respectively. To bring modernity into the mix, designer Geoffrey Bradfield used lighting, fabric and artistic influences in guestrooms and public spaces. Other upgrades include a new restaurant (The Chop House), a deck with a fire pit, and the Falcon Bar, specializing in high-end scotches, wines and Vermont cheeses and chocolates. Unchanged are the amenities, including five restaurants and a 13,000-square-foot spa—and a setting in the Green Mountains that never loses its charm.

This grande dame might be getting up there in years (it opened in 1769), but recent renovations—including a great room that finally gives this historic hotel its due—keep things current. Today, skiers set up base camp here for trips to Stratton and Bromley, 17 and seven miles away, respectively. To bring modernity into the mix, designer Geoffrey Bradfield used lighting, fabric and artistic influences in guestrooms and public spaces.